The Opposite of Wild (11 page)

Her body screamed,
Yes!

Stupid hormones.

“Are you there?” Rachel prompted. “What happened?”

“I was just so sad about Daisy leaving, and he came over with soup and a DVD—”

“What movie?”

“
Bringing Up Baby
.”

“He’s good. Did you tell him that was your favorite?”

“No, but Maggie and I talked about it.”

“Go on.”

“Then he hugged me, and the next thing I knew, we were kissing, and it was just too much. I kicked him out.”

Rachel gasped. “How was it too much?”

“I don’t know. Just too…
intense
.”

“Intense,” Rachel echoed. “So let me get this straight. The guy you worshipped for an entire summer finally kissed you, it was freaking
intense
, and you kicked him out? Liz, forget about The Humiliation, and just go for it!”

“It’s not that easy.”

“It is,” Rachel said firmly. “We’re sexy singles, remember? Invite him to your birthday party.”

“I don’t know…”

“I’ll do it. You’re welcome.”

“Rachel, no! It would be so awkward, and he probably wouldn’t even want to come. My mom said he’s been a bit of a hermit since he quit the police department.”

Rachel murmured noncommittally. “He was shot, you know.”

“Do you know what happened?”

“No one does. Just that he was shot and then left the force. You should ask him.”

Liz rolled her eyes, thankful Rachel couldn’t see her. “I’m sure after he hasn’t told anyone all this time, he’d just
love
to confide in me.”

“Dial back the snark. I’m trying to help you here.”

Liz sighed. “Sorry, it’s just so hard. Ryan is so…so—”

“Hot? Sexy? Lickable?”

Liz flushed red, opened her mouth and then shut it.

“Wear the Wonderbra tomorrow, and shave your legs,” Rachel instructed.

“Rachel!”

“Calling F-U-N now, bye!”

Liz stared at her phone. Rachel was
so
going to pay for this.

Chapter Ten

The next morning, Liz drove to Maggie’s house for their planned change-of-scenery drive. Maggie was already in the passenger seat of her convertible when Liz pulled up. She wore a red kerchief and large, round sunglasses.

“Happy birthday!” Maggie exclaimed. “Ready for a change of scenery?”

“Sure am,” Liz replied, getting into the driver’s seat. “Where to?”

“We’re heading for Laurel Mountain. I printed the directions off the computer.” She waved a paper in the air.

Liz took the paper and studied the route. Laurel Mountain was two hours north of them up in the Catskills. She pulled out of the driveway and headed out of town. If she’d known it was that far, she would’ve packed a cooler for lunch. She preferred to prepare her own lunch so she knew exactly how many calories she had to account for, but, hey, it was her birthday so calories didn’t count.

“I got you a present,” Maggie said.

“You did?” Liz glanced over.

Maggie was smiling.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that.”

“I wanted to. I’ll give it to you when we get there.”

“Okay.” Liz noticed Maggie didn’t have her usual oversized faux-leather purse, only a fanny pack snapped around her waist. It must be a tiny present.

Once they hit the highway, Maggie dozed off, giving Liz plenty of time to think about her birthday party tonight. Rachel had texted that she’d left the invite message on Ryan’s voice mail and hadn’t heard back. Liz didn’t know which would be worse—if Ryan showed up or if he didn’t. If he showed up, she’d have to deal with the awkward we-kissed-and-I-kicked-you-out scene. If he didn’t show, she’d feel like a total loser on her birthday. It was a classic lose/lose scenario.

The big three-oh promised to be just as horrible as Liz had imagined.

She woke Maggie two hours later after she took the Laurel Mountain exit.

“Where to now?” Liz asked. “Should we just drive around?”

“Oh, no, I have a destination in mind,” Maggie said. “Just stay on this road and follow the signs for Adventure Zipline Tours.”

Liz’s stomach dropped. “Maggie, are we—”

“Happy birthday, Liz!”

Liz drove in stunned silence.

“What’s the matter, dear?” Maggie inquired. “You look a little pale. Don’t worry. I saw the video on their website. This is going to be a blast. We’re going to fly like a bird through the forest. Talk about a change of scenery!”

“Talk about…” Liz repeated numbly.

Maggie pointed frantically. “Ooh, you almost missed the sign, turn here. Right! Right!”

Liz jerked the wheel right and considered a U-turn.

“They’ve never had an accident.” Maggie patted Liz’s arm in a gesture of comfort. “I wouldn’t give you a birthday gift that would kill you. What fun would that be?”

Liz stifled a groan. When a sweet seventy-two-year-old woman was braver than you were, something was definitely wrong. Either with her or with Maggie, she wasn’t sure which.

But even worse than that, Ryan thought she was so the opposite of wild that she should be a calming influence on his grandmother. Maybe Liz needed a little bit of wild in her life.

Maybe Maggie was the one who had life all figured out and Liz’s safety-first attitude was wrong.

Liz surprised even herself when she said quite firmly, “Okay, I’ll do it.”

~ ~ ~

“AAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!” someone screamed in a high pitch that startled all the birds from the trees. Wait, was that her? Liz clung to the handles of her zipline with a death grip as she hurtled across the forest canopy, praying she landed on her feet when she hit that platform. Dear God, she was going to knock right into their tour guide, Will. “Lo-oo-oo-ok out!” she hollered as the platform raced up to meet her.

“Yay, Liz!” Maggie shouted. “Me next!”

Liz landed on her feet on the platform, where thankfully Will had stepped out of range. Will’s assistant, a baby-faced Lorenzo—seemingly unaware of the great height they were at—nimbly moved forward to release her from the zipline. He guided her to where Will and the rest of the group stood at the other end of the platform.

She placed a hand on her pounding heart. She couldn’t believe people paid good money to go through such terror! Will gestured as he pointed out the red spruce and paper birch trees found at this altitude of the mountain range. She made the mistake of looking down, got dizzy, and bent at the waist, putting her head between her knees.
Breathe, breathe. You’re wearing a harness and a helmet
.
Ha!
she thought somewhat deliriously.
Like a helmet would do any good when she was four hundred feet above the ground.
Why did she think this would prove she could be wild? More like terrified.

“Woo-ooo-ooo-hoo!” Maggie hollered.

Omigod
. Liz straightened and turned to see Maggie hurtling through the forest, hands up in the air. Like a crazed witch without her broomstick.

“Don’t let go of the handles!” Liz shrieked. “Hang on!” Her hand flew to her mouth as she willed Maggie to hang on. She was almost there, the platform only a few feet away.

“Look, Ma, no hands!” Maggie cackled gleefully. She landed on the platform, laughing, her cheeks full of color. Lorenzo caught her and kept her upright.

Liz took a deep breath for the first time since she’d seen Maggie in flight.

The older woman slapped Liz on the back. “Now this is living. Didn’t I
tell
ya, girl?”

“Maggie, I think we should go. This is far too dangerous.”

“No way to get down but across these ziplines,” Maggie replied. “And this next one is even steeper and faster. It’s gonna be a ride! C’mon, get in line, you’re next.”

Liz turned and looked for the end of this torturous journey. Five more ziplines until the end, each longer and faster until the final, fifty-miles-per-hour line—the one advertised in bold neon letters on the Adventure Zipline Tours brochure she’d picked up just before she’d been fitted for her useless helmet. She seriously considered climbing down a tree. But she’d probably get stuck, and they’d have to call the fire department to get her down. And she couldn’t leave crazy Maggie behind.

Liz gripped her shaking hands tightly, unable to concentrate as Will pointed out another deciduous species native to the area.

“Almost your turn.” Baby-face Lorenzo touched her elbow. “Ready?”

Liz looked toward her next date with terror. A tiny person with pigtails and a purple T-shirt zipped away from her at alarming speed, nearly at the next platform. The girl landed where another baby-faced tour guide waited and walked over to the group gathering there.

“Your turn,” Baby Tour Guide urged.

She stood, frozen.

“C’mon,” Maggie said. “This is the family friendly tour. Look, an eight-year-old girl just did it. Surely if she can do it, you can do it.”

Liz didn’t budge. No more ziplines. Humans were not meant to be hurtling through the forest canopy faster than they could run. It wasn’t natural. She was meant to be walking at a leisurely pace down Main Street, window-shopping. She envisioned Clover Park’s main commercial district: Shane’s Scoops, Book It, Garner’s Sports Bar & Grill. Garner’s made her think of her sister, her opposite, the wild one. She girded her loins. She was going to prove—to herself and everyone here—that she could take risks and experience at least as much adventure as a seventy-two-year-old woman. If that meant ziplining to her death…well, she had life insurance.

“Oh, okay, I’ll go next,” Maggie said, grabbing the handle of the zipline. Lorenzo attached her harness, and she took off with a flying leap. “I’m a bird, I’m a plane, I’m super Maggie!”

Liz paled. Her fear was worse now that she knew what ziplining felt like. The nylon harness wasn’t like a seat like she’d thought it would be. It was flimsy, and she spun, right to left, completely hanging out there, out of control.

“You really do need to go,” Baby Face said. “It’s perfectly safe. We have a fantastic safety record.”

Liz turned, eyes sharp. “Fantastic? What does that mean? Has anyone ever fallen on this thing?”

“No, never. There was just the one time when Pete was fooling around and slipped upside down—”

“Upside down!” she screeched.

“But that could never happen with a properly tightened harness.” He checked hers again, and she watched him tug a little here and there, not feeling any better. “Pete loosened his harness on purpose just for kicks.”

She was having trouble taking a deep breath.
Is this what a panic attack feels like?

“Look at me,” Baby Face said. “Breathe normally. If it helps, close your eyes and I’ll give you a boost. Pete will catch you at the other end.”

Pete? The idiot that purposely loosened his harness?
Liz closed her eyes and whimpered.

“Come on, Liz!” Maggie hollered. “You can do it!”

“Yo, Pete, make sure you catch this one,” Baby Face yelled. “She’s coming through blind.”

Liz briefly wondered how many times this had happened on the zipline tour and felt marginally better that she wasn’t the only one. She scrunched her eyes shut even tighter, bracing for the boost.

“These ziplines are strong enough to carry thousands of pounds,” Baby Face said. “You look light as a—”

Baby boosted her right into the air.

“AAAAAAHHHH!!!!” Another unearthly shriek ripped from her lungs as she hurtled through the air, the wind whipping her hair back. She heard squawking and wings flapping as a flock of birds took off in fright.

“Open your eyes!” Maggie hollered.

She did. Maggie was grinning and giving her a thumbs-up, and suddenly she felt like it was okay. It was all good. They were living life. She smiled now as the wind pushed her hair back. She landed on the platform, where Pete caught her and steadied her. She felt a surge of love for Pete and his scrawny, steady arms. “Hello, Pete,” she said warmly.

She wasn’t dizzy. She felt weirdly exhilarated. She hugged Maggie. They joined the group, and Will was describing the flocks of warblers that were usually found in the area when people weren’t shrieking. A few people chuckled.

“I’ll stop shrieking,” Liz promised with a sheepish grin. Poor birds. They were probably more scared than she’d been. Now she felt pumped and alive and strong.

“Can I go first on this next one?” she asked. “I think waiting for my turn is making my panic worse.”

“Of course,” a gentleman with a white beard answered, stepping to the side. The eight-year-old girl agreed too.

Liz gripped the handles and aimed herself at the next platform. “AAAAHHHH!”

Chapter Eleven

Ryan was fuming by the time he reached Garner’s Sports Bar & Grill for Liz’s birthday party. He’d been all set to apologize for his mistake. The invitation, while a surprise, gave him the perfect opportunity to give a quick apology for taking advantage of Liz’s weepy state last night and move on. That went out the window when he’d picked up Gran to take her to the party. Apparently, she and Liz had gone ziplining together today, and now Gran would like him to install a zipline in her backyard. Un-freaking-believable!

He dropped Gran off by the front door. “I’m going to park around back. See you inside.”

“Okay,” Gran said, getting out of the car. She turned back. “You look very handsome tonight in that dress shirt,” she added, in a blatant attempt to flatter him out of his temper.

“Thanks,” he said tersely.

He pulled into the rear parking lot and grabbed the gift he’d bought Liz—before he’d heard about the zipline craziness—from the back seat. He tugged at his collar. This shirt was choking him. He unbuttoned another button of the blue shirt he’d finally decided on and rolled up the sleeves.

Avoiding the back entrance, he took the long way around the block to give himself time to calm down on the still-hot July night. He passed Shane’s Scoops and a few other shops connected to Garner’s and walked around to the front entrance, where purple and red balloons bobbed cheerfully on the railing next to the door. He took a deep breath.
Do not yell at the birthday girl
.